Leisure as a human right special edition introduction

Introduction

The Australian and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies (ANZALS) 12th Biennial conference, held in Adelaide from 9 to 11 December 2015, brought together delegates from across the world to speak, discuss and debate topics related to the theme of ‘Leisure as a Human Right’. Within the conference a number of special session streams were organized, focusing on topics such as ‘Health & Leisure’, ‘Animals & Leisure’, ‘Athlete Human Rights’, ‘Leisure Facility Management’, ‘Sport & Development’ and ‘Therapeutic Recreation’. The papers presented in this special issue are a reflection of some of these streams and highlight the diversity of topics covered in the conference.

The right to access and participate in leisure is enshrined in a number of international conventions and declarations beginning with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) – Articles 24 (the right to leisure) and 27 (the right to cultural participation and protection of copyright). As Veal (2015) points out, there are over 25 declarations/conventions/covenants developed by various international and regional organizations that pertain to leisure as a human right. While it is clear there has been a global consensus that access to leisure is a human right, there still remain a number of challenges and issues that individuals, communities and nations face in relation to fulfilling this right.

For example, Asia-Pacific island nations are under threat from the effects of climate change through rising sea levels and more extreme weather events. What role should nearby wealthier nations, such as Australia and New Zealand, play in respect to providing support to island communities’ access to leisure? In relation to culture, arts and tourism, first nations peoples continue to be exploited and used for profit-making purposes by more powerful organizations and corporations (Simons 2000). What can and should be done to ensure fair and equitable trade of the intellectual and cultural property of the disempowered, most notably first nations peoples (Bowrey 2009)? Sport continues to be used as a tool through which ‘community development’ is implemented. However, is importing non-traditional sport activities ‘good’ for communities, or is it a subtle form of imperialism cloaked in social justice rhetoric? Furthermore, is this ‘community development’ ‘good’ for all in the community or only certain sections (e.g. able bodied males)? Conversely, how can communities take ownership and thrive from sporting or cultural imports?

Aligned with these over-arching issues regarding leisure as a human right is the role of leisure studies researchers in advancing knowledge and understanding of the field. Veal (2015) argues that leisure scholars have neglected human rights as a field of study. While some within leisure studies have explored aspects related to leisure and human rights (e.g. see Edginton 2006; Edginton et al. 2006; Rojek 2005a, 2005b) this work is relatively limited. Veal (2015) notes there have been some scholars outside of the leisure studies field who have explored leisure as a human right (Richards and Carbonetti 2013; Risse 2009). However, in the main leisure scholars have tended to focus on specific populations and groups (e.g. women or people with a disability) within the framework of inclusive practice (Veal 2015).

The challenge posed to conference delegates was to review, reflect and discuss leisure as a human right at an individual, community and societal level. While leisure studies scholars have explored elements of access and equity to leisure for various population groups, including consistently identifying the importance and benefits leisure has in the intersections of marginalized groups with society, a gap remains in focusing specifically on leisure as a human right. The focus of the 2015 ANZALS conference and the papers in this special issue was to raise awareness of this gap as well as provide an avenue to continue the conversation.

The first paper in this special edition, authored by Georgia Cervin (winner of the student paper prize at the 2015 ANZALS conference), Roslyn Kerr, Natalie Barker-Ruchti, Astrid Schubring and Myrian Nunomura explores the topic of athlete rights through an examination of the experiences of ‘older’ elite female gymnasts in Australia. The authors reveal how various reforms concerning athlete health and weight control, relationships with coaches and financial support have enabled older women to continue to participate in this sport. Throughout the paper the authors identify the outcomes that can be achieved through structured organizational reforms that not only benefit participants but also the organization as well. The paper highlights the need, and importance of leisure scholars continuing to explore structural elements when considering the experiences of various population groups.

The second paper, authored by Ted Evans, Michelle Bellon and Brian Matthews moves the spotlight of leisure and human rights to social services designed to support people with disabilities in Australia to participate in the arts and recreation. Based on the analysis of interviews, focus groups and texts, the authors describe a number of systemic issues faced by young people with disabilities (and their advocates) with regard to Community Access Services across Australia. These authors identify that services promoted as having been designed to ‘provide opportunities for people with disability to gain and use their abilities to enjoy their full potential for social independence’ (AIHW 2015, 6) are primarily service-driven, segregating and disempowering. Services for people with disabilities in Australia are currently going through a transformation, with the expansion of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This paper provides a timely insight into the experiences of those most affected by this transformation and, we think, provides some useful thoughts regarding leisure within a human rights perspective, particularly in relation to empowerment of those who are at most risk of not having their voices heard.

The third paper, by Edoardo Rosso and Richard McGrath continues the theme of leisure as a human right through an exploration and discussion of sport as a social development tool. The authors report on the development and implementation of a Sport for Development (S4D) project in South Australia. The S4D project identifies a service provision model involving a variety of stakeholders including a university, schools, sport, community, government and charity organizations providing local sport opportunities for disadvantaged communities. The authors identify that a key finding in the development of the model presented in the paper is the need to focus on a structured capacity-building framework to enable the establishment of horizontal partnerships across the community.

The fourth paper in this special edition, authored by Rachel Yerbury, William Boyd, David Lloyd and Anna Brooks, moves away from examining the topic of leisure as a human right from a systemic perspective to one that explores the intersection of human and animal interaction. The authors discuss the need to think not only about the rights of humans in relation to leisure opportunities but also the rights of other beings as well. Using the example of captive dolphins, this paper examines the impacts of human leisure activity on both human and dolphin well-being. While interactions with animals have benefits for humans, Yerbury et al. challenge the justification of using captive animals for human leisure. In doing so, the authors adopt a novel application of the biophilia framework to animals and seek to broaden the discussion of human rights to all creatures.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.